The daikon radishes in the vegetable garden are continuing to grow and are almost ready to be harvested. They look as good as the ones in the stores! The children frequently ask me, “Sensei, can we pull them out now?” And I tell them, “Not yet. Let’s be patient. Let’s wait a little longer until all of the daikon are bigger”. And so everyday the children visit the vegetable garden waiting for the day that all the daikon are ready to be harvested.
In February we will celebrate Setsubun by participating in “Mame-Maki” (“bean scattering”). We will scatter beans to ward off evil spirits. Let’s also ward off the cold germs and viruses during Setsubun!

2/2 (Tue), 2/3 (Wed) Setsubun The bean scattering event for the following classes. Renge, Kiku, Momo, Sakura
2/15 (Mon) No school (President Day)
2/17 (Wed), 2/18 (Thu), 2/19 (Fri) February birthday party and contribution day.
2/20 (Sat) Japanese classes. The Lecture Day for the Bible Study by Mr. Horiuchi
2/25 (Thu) Sakura Rehearsal (Huntington Library)
2/26 (Fri) Sumire Ume Girl’s Day Open House (We will inform you about it when the date gets closer)

·Let’s watch and learn more about the history and origin of Setsubun, by playing with the “Oni Mask” the students have made at school and also the special songs they have learned.
·Nenchu Class – Practice jump ropes with your record book.
·Nencho Class – Work on finger knitting by making their own mufflers
·All of the kids have been challenged. “Ganbare (Effort) book: (Jump ropes, monkey bar, the stickup, Horizontal bar, string end, hopping, tap spinning, and chopsticks.
·Learn about Girls Day through making your own Girl’s Day Princess dolls.
·“Hygiene week” learn to wash hands and gargle.

The children are happily showing me the long knitted yarn coming down the back of their hands! We are using the free time during the class to accomplish this, but the children are really into it!
They start knitting by making a "x" on their four left fingers. It is a very simple repetition but need a lot of patience.
This is good exercise for the fingertips, development of dexterity and will also give good stimulus to the brain. It has been incorporated in Japan from several years ago to prevent dementia. Would you like to try it? We will teach you!

Thank you very much for everyone's support on Mochi Pounding Festival. It was a wonderful event. We would like to thank all the people who helped us organizing the event as well as everyone who came to participate. Thank you again!

We have started Parent-Teacher Conferences. We would like to nurture each child with mutual understanding between parents and us about how each and individual child grows. This is a good opportunity for all of us to discuss and deepen mutual understanding. We wish to develop a good relationship with you.
Please let us know your convenient time to have a conference. We look forward to seeing you.

The children are developing deeper relationships with their friends, and with that, we are beginning to see more conflicts arise. It is important to consider that learning to resolve conflicts is critical in the development of children and may help them acquire many life skills, such as:
1. The ability to assert oneself.
2. The ability to communicate one’s opinions/thoughts/feelings.
3. The ability to understand that some of your peers may think like you and some may not.
4. The ability to understand that in order to play with others, it is important to follow rules.
5. The ability to expand one’s horizons by sharing ideas and knowledge with others.
These skills cannot necessarily be taught by us as teachers or parents, rather it is through their day-to-day experiences and interactions that our children will pick up these skills and learn to handle conflicts on their own. This is why I think it is important to refrain from intervening when conflicts arise. I believe that children will eventually figure out how to solve their problems and resolve their conflicts. There are some children, however, who have not yet learned to use their words to express themselves and may have a hard time keeping their hands to themselves. When we run into such situations, we ask the children involved what happened and how they feel and help them find a solution to their problem. We always try our best to help our students learn from the experience, whether it be by apologizing to a peer or by accepting an apology. Occasionally these conflicts may result in minor injuries. In these instances, we do not necessarily report the incident to the parents.
We have heard that some parents have expressed their concern over other parents not contacting them or apologizing to them when their children have been involved in an incident. This is probably because the other parents have not been contacted by us and are not aware of the situation. It is my belief that once the children have resolved their problem, it is not always necessary to contact the parents regarding the situation. Of course, should a serious injury or incident occur, we will contact the parents. I consider Kodomo No Ie to be one big family and the parents a part of this family as well. Please do not hesitate to contact me (Encho-Sensei, Ms. Umehata) if you have any concerns or feel you need a more detailed account of an incident involving your child.
Furthermore, if you happen to come across any children misbehaving or mistreating the rabbits, please speak to them and let them know that it is not okay to behave that way. My wish is that all of the children at KNI are supported by their larger “family” in helping them to thrive and grow as individuals. I would like to ask all of you to show tolerance and have a forgiving heart, knowing that conflicts between children are a part of growing up.